During my first session in Jackson, I had the privilege of serving as Vice-Chairman of the Economic and Workforce Development committee in the Senate. From the start, one of my biggest passions and goals became to ensure that Mississippi is competitive for attracting new businesses with high-paying jobs while maintaining an environment that allows our current businesses – big and small – to continue to build and grow. And when visiting with developers and site hunters at various functions, one message was consistent: Mississippi needed a statewide plan and a statewide message to promote our diverse economy. To turn this message into a reality, I supported the creation of the new comprehensive Economic and Workforce Development agency in Mississippi, known as Accelerate Mississippi. This agency provides a centralized and comprehensive location for maintaining and directing funds as well as complex the planning that goes into growing Mississippi’s economy. Now, whether viewing sites and conducting interviews with workforce specialists from the Coast, the Delta, the Northeast, the Pine Belt, or anywhere else in our state, new and old industries alike will hear all that Mississippi has to offer through one consistent plan across all areas. I have also been a huge advocate of a new program that will place Career Coaches in our state’s high schools. Career Coaches will be professionals dedicated to entering the classrooms and discussing all types of careers and jobs that are available to students after high school. Whether the student has questions about a specific college major, a branch of our armed forces, or a specific trade or skill, Career Coaches will be able to help direct that student in a way that will help them have a plan to succeed immediately after graduation. Even students that don’t know how to turn their interests into a career will be able to take a Life Skills exam and learn what jobs are available in their communities and in our state. Here in Jackson County, we have seen our Career Coaching Program (known as P3: Passion, Purpose, Paycheck) work with employers to hire students right after graduation – with many employers holding “Signing Days” for their new employees and trainees, giving them that proud moment of joining a team that has traditionally only been available for college athletes. I will continue to support efforts to grow and improve Economic and Workforce Development in our State – which will also fight one of our biggest issues faced by Mississippi: “brain drain.”

As a State Senator, I have received several recognitions from groups in Mississippi for my pro-business and pro-growth legislative record. I have received the endorsement of the Mississippi Business and Industry Political Education Committee (BIPEC) as “Recommended Best for Business and Jobs” with a Grade of “A” for my first 4-year term, and I was named as Outstanding Senate Legislator in 2000 by the Mississippi Association of Realtors. I have also received a 100% ranking for my voting record by the NFIB, America’s voice of small business.

Providing access to a strong education system for all Mississippians is perhaps the most important job of our state government. And Mississippi is making huge strides in this area, so much so that we are gaining national attention with what has been dubbed “The Mississippi Miracle.” Our readings scores have soared across the board thanks to implementation of the 4th Grade Reading Gate and other programs that have been put in place here in our state. We have also made gains in other subjects. There is no denying that we are on the right track, and we cannot become complacent with where we are now. We have to continue to strive to climb the ranks and improve even more. Our teachers are the frontline workers in our education system, and the success we have had is due to their hard work. During this past legislative term, we passed the largest teacher pay raise in our state’s history. Now, we are hiring new teachers with a base salary that is not just competitive in our region – but it is competitive with the national average salary for public school teachers. In addition, we have provided more funding for classroom resources and school facilities. I proudly voted for and supported each teacher pay raise we have passed. In addition, I have championed efforts to provide assistance and specialized education for students that may have learning disabilities or disadvantages, such as dyslexia. In my opinion, Mississippi has tremendous room for growth, and changes have to be made, to allow for additional specialized training and positions to teachers to address these changes. Our current requirements are too strict and too cost-prohibitive, and we need to be more flexible when it comes to allowing new programs and less-restrictive training for our educators. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I support and encourage more parental choice in education. I believe that parents should have the ability to make sure their children are receiving not just the best education available in their area – but the best education available in any area. Too many families in our state are stuck in tough situations in failing districts without any other choice. Meanwhile, other states in our region and in our country are expanding the availability of both public and private school options. If there is one thing that we learned during COVID, it is that the traditional way of thinking about how education is delivered needs to expand. The exploration and development of new types of schools and new programs should never be off the table here in Mississippi. We should look to other states and areas and see what works and what does not work, and we should consider and work around challenges faced by each region in our state. Outside the box thinking is a must.

Public safety is one of the most important aspects of any state and community when it comes to attracting and maintaining new citizens and businesses. Put simply, people want to live and work where they and their families feel safe. And when it comes to promoting safety, I stand with and am proud to support our first responders. As a Charter Member of the Mississippi First Responders Caucus, I have fought to make sure that our first responders have the tools and the resources they need to keep us safe. I also have worked to make sure funding is provided to keep our most experienced officers and firefighters while attracting new officers and firefighters. I have sponsored legislation that provides additional funding mechanisms and availability of safety equipment for our law enforcement officers. I have also sponsored legislation that provides new and improved resources to help fight crime and to identify criminals, and I have drafted legislation that aims to protect the identity and privacy of our officers that wear the uniform and their families. I am proud to have been named the 2022 Legislator of the Year by the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Association, and I will continue to support our first responders. For our local firefighters, I was able to secure much-needed funding for the new and improved fire station near the ballpark in Vancleave – which will serve that community and those firemen with a topnotch facility.

In addition, I have served for 3 years as Vice-Chairman of the Judiciary B Senate Committee, which handles legislation dealing with crimes (and punishment for crimes). I was proud to stand with Lt. Governor Hosemann and with Senators Wiggins and Fillingane at the beginning of the 2023 Legislative Session as we announced our Tough on Crime Initiative, with plans to combat crime around the state and in the Greater Jackson Area. I have supported increased jail time and penalties for those that commit crimes against people and property. I have also championed legislation aimed at combating sex crimes and cybersex crimes that often victimize our most vulnerable women and teenagers – and I was named to and attended the White House Task Force on Non-Consensual Distribution of Intimate Images in Washington, DC. Cybersex crimes are becoming more widespread as technology and internet availability increases, and I am determined to keep Mississippi at the top when it comes to keeping our citizens safe while sending a strong message to criminals that their actions will not be tolerated in this state.

Finally, one of the issues I first campaigned on when I decided to run for state senate was combating corruption in Mississippi. Last year, in the 2023 Legislative Session, I drafted the bill to establish the Public Fund Offender Registry. The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves. This new statute requires the Department of Public Safety to create a registry to contain the name and identifying information of all individuals that are convicted of embezzling or stealing funds from our state, counties and municipalities. The registry will allow other entities to ensure that they are not hiring individuals that have proven themselves to be untrustworthy with public funds – and no one that appears on the registry will be able to hold a job in an accounting or treasury office of any government entity while their name appears on the registry. The only way to be removed from the registry is to complete any sentence imposed and to pay back all money stolen plus retribution back to the state or community. I am very proud of this landmark legislation that is the first of its kind, and I am hopeful that we can build on this to prevent thievery and corruption in our state.

Another important pillar of government that is expected of our citizens is that of well-maintained and safe infrastructure. From our roads and bridges to our railroads, airports, and ports, I understand the importance of maintaining and upgrading all means of transportation. As Senator for District 51, I have been able to secure funding for a major new upgrade along the I-10 Corridor in East Jackson County, where we will soon see new frontage roads that will open up commercial and industrial opportunities between Highways 63 and 613. I have also served on the Governor’s RESTORE Act Transportation Advisory Committee, where I have promoted upgrades to Highway 609 from I-10 down to Fort Bayou, along with requesting funding for our railroads and the Port of Pascagoula to help better serve our growing industries. I have developed and maintained very good working relationships with MDOT, and I worked to influence decisions that is leading to immediate construction turning Highway 57 into a 4-lane highway north from I-10 to Highway 98, and I fought for funding for the much-needed widening of Highway 90 to 6-lanes from west Gautier through Ocean Springs. These new and improved roadways will put us in a better position to grow. And speaking of growth, our Port of Pascagoula, Trent Lott Airport, and our rail system are all in a prime position to grow and expand to meet the needs of our industry and commerce. Few communities have access to such great infrastructure across several different means of transportation, and I intend to make sure Jackson County is always ready to be competitive to attract new businesses and grow current businesses with access to the markets of our region and the world. We have great leaders in our cities, in our county, and in the state, and I am proud to represent and promote District 51 when it comes to infrastructure upgrades.

Along with education, safety, and infrastructure, healthcare has quickly become another important pillar in the functions of government. This is a very complex responsibility that requires strong education and workforce development, safety, and a community that is able to attract leading physicians and nurses. In Jackson County, our healthcare system has gone through many changes – but the quality of service to our community and ready access to healthcare has remained the focus. During COVID-19, we saw an already strained workforce reach extreme shortages in nurses and staff at our healthcare facilities. Seeing this as a challenge that is not going to go away, and with the help of others in our legislative delegation, I was able to help secure funding for our local healthcare system to build and develop a Nursing Academy. This new Academy will allow current nurses and staff to increase their education and specialization while still working – and it will also help attract new nurses to our area. I was also able to help secure funding through the Gulf Coast Restoration Fund (BP Money) for a new and improved clinic in Vancleave. Across the state, we have seen issues with rural hospitals, and I supported efforts to provide newly available funds to help bridge the gap for facilities that are currently navigating the change in how healthcare is delivered. In addition, I have developed relationships and have maintained active communication with our mental health treatment providers and partners. While the issue has been around for a while, the COVID-19 pandemic shined a light on how important mental healthcare is to our communities. This aspect of healthcare is one I hope we can focus on and improve in the future. I have also discussed mental health programs with parents and school officials, and I think we need to expand awareness of the importance of mental health in our high schools.  

The biggest question of healthcare for the last four years seems to have been the question of whether to expand Medicaid in Mississippi. I do not support the expansion of Medicaid, and I will tell you why. I do not trust the Federal Government’s offer to provide funds in perpetuity – and I worry that allowing so much power and authority to the federal government will end in a loss of individual freedom and liberties when it comes to obtaining the best care available. That said, I recognize that we have a problem in Mississippi with many working individuals not being able to afford health insurance. This is something we cannot ignore – and I have talked with our local hospital officials and state officials. Many times, these individuals will not go to their doctor for a condition that is easily treatable until it is too advanced. In my opinion, we need to look for new ways for the insurance industry to deliver coverage to these individuals and new and more efficient ways to deliver care for those that don’t or won’t seek treatment when they first develop health problems – like diabetes or heart conditions. Our hospitals are having to eat tremendous amounts of the cost associated with treating these individuals. We must find a solution. I will continue to work with healthcare professionals and agency heads to help Mississippi solve this problem in a fiscally sound and permanent way.

While I am honored and very proud to serve as your State Senator, the most important job in my world is that of being a good husband and father. There is a lot that is going on in our world today – and in our country – that is wrong and misguided. My wife and I know that we have a very tough and important job in making sure our children grow up to be moral and kind, and to know right from wrong, in a society where some of the loudest voices are determined to cause division and hate. As parents, we know that we are in the best position to make important decisions involving what our children are allowed to learn and experience. As a legislator, I will always fight for parental rights and religious freedom – because these are core functions of the family and are not the business of our government to dictate. I believe that parents should have access to the materials their children are being taught in school, and that parents should not only have the right – but be expected – to question and challenge information and programs developed for children in our schools and communities. I also believe that we as legislators should work with educators and libraries to ensure that only age-appropriate material is available to our children, and that we are always vigilant and determined to prevent pornographic materials from being accessed by students. Advancements in technology make this difficult, but it is something we must make time for and be aware of. In the 2023 legislative session, I worked with other legislators in passing a bill that will hold public school media vendors accountable for providing reliably safe and appropriate information through their databases – and to block inappropriate images and information. I also supported the REAP Act that prohibits gender-altering treatment for minors, and I supported legislation that makes sure that boys play sports against other boys and girls play sports against other girls. This is fairness at its most basic level, and it provides an equal playing field for students of both genders to compete against others of their same gender. As new issues arise both in our state and nationally, I want you to know that you can count on me as a family man to protect and defend traditional family values.